


Pretty as a Picture

by Freckles_From_Brooklyn



Series: Preemptive Fix-it Fics because god knows we're gonna need it [4]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Artist!Jon, Jon just loves drawing Martin okay I don't make the rules, M/M, Preemptive Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:14:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29005875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freckles_From_Brooklyn/pseuds/Freckles_From_Brooklyn
Summary: Jon loves drawing Martin
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Series: Preemptive Fix-it Fics because god knows we're gonna need it [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2132277
Comments: 5
Kudos: 76





	Pretty as a Picture

Jon had always enjoyed drawing. Art had been one of his favorite classes in school, and though he’d never really had any interest in pursuing it as a career, he kept taking classes throughout university. Most notes he took had little doodles in the margins. He kept a sketchbook in his desk at the Magnus Institute and another one in his bag. Drawing was relaxing for him, something that brought him peace when he was stressed out. 

He wasn’t sure exactly when he started drawing Martin. He knew it was shortly after he’d been promoted to Head Archivist. He hadn’t meant to draw his archival assistant. He’d been absentmindedly sketching one day, just drawing the rough outline of a person, but before he knew it, that outline was getting cleaner, and he was adding Martin’s shy smile, large, round glasses, and messy, curly hair. He tried not to draw people after that. He was sure if he did, he’d just end up drawing Martin again, and if Martin found hundreds of drawings of himself in Jon’s office, he’d undoubtedly file a complaint.

Jon didn’t draw Martin again until after he’d woken up from his coma. Martin had gone to work with Peter, and the archives just seemed empty without him. Everything was going wrong. Jon had reached for his sketchbook with shaking hands, his pencil moving almost on its own as he tried to pour all of his emotions onto the page. Martin, sitting next to his hospital bed. Martin, shaking Peter Lukas’s hand. Martin, partially obscured in swirling fog. Jon had slammed the sketchbook shut, throwing it back in its drawer. He couldn’t handle this. Not now.

There had been more time to draw at the safehouse, and no shortage of inspiration. It had started when Martin showed Jon a picture of a cow he’d seen on his walk. He’d been amazed and delighted when Jon had drawn the cow— admittedly not his best work, but good enough. Martin apparently loved watching him draw. 

“You get really focused,” he’d said. “It’s really cute.” So Jon, who normally didn’t like people watching him draw, let Martin watch. 

Drawing opportunities were few and far between as Jon and Martin made their way across the apocalyptic fearscape, and whenever Jon got the opportunity to sit down and sketch something out, it was always dark and twisted, a vision of the domains they’d passed through. In a way, these drawings were cathartic, a way to process what he’d seen, even more effective than the statements he gave. 

Jon had broadened his artistic horizons after things went back to normal. He’d taken up painting, both normal and watercolor, and would occasionally sell his paintings online to supplement his job as a bookseller. For every painting he sold, there were always one or two he kept. They were mostly portraits, mostly of Martin doing various things. Martin always helped his art block. One night, Jon and Martin sat in the living room, a fire crackling in the fireplace. Martin sat curled up in a comfortable armchair reading a book, their cat, The Lieutenant, purring on his lap. Jon sat on the couch with his sketchbook and paints. The scene took shape quickly under his pencil: the rough beams of the cottage, the fire, Martin, the cat. The color was added just as quickly. 

“Can I see?” Martin asked. Jon jumped. 

“Christ, don’t do that!” he complained. 

“Sorry,” Martin said, scooping up The Lieutenant so she couldn’t get into Jon’s paints. “Can I see, though?” 

“I suppose,” Jon teased, showing him the sketchbook page. 

“It’s beautiful,” Martin said. “As always.” Jon leaned up and kissed him.

“They’re only ever as pretty as the subject,” He replied.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have Jonmartin story ideas that you'd like to see written, please feel free to put them in the comments!


End file.
